But to determine which cities are really outperforming the trend, experts reviewed the largest real personal income per capita increases in 2016 among the nation’s 382 metropolitan statistical areas with data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

But 24/7 Wall Street points out that fast per capita income growth doesn't mean a city is thriving economically. Of the top 25 cities with the fastest growing income, only five have a higher per capita income than the United States as a whole, and most cities on this list have a higher unemployment rate than the national rate.

"Many of the cities on this list are able to have nation-leading per capita income growth because per capita incomes there were low to begin with — due in no small part to damage done by the recession," experts at 24/7 Wall Street said.

Here are the four Indiana cities that made the cut and what the financial experts had to say about them. The full list can be found here, with Jacksonville, North Carolina, was leading the nation.

9. Lafayette-West Lafayette, Indiana

Per capita income climbed 3.7 percent, from $34,540 in 2015 to $35,808 in 2016. The area's per capita income has grown in each of the last three years, but its five year per capita income growth of 7.1 percent lags behind the national growth of 9.0 percent.

Lafayette-West Lafayette is a major manufacturing hub and home to facilities of several major companies including Caterpillar, General Electric and Subaru.

7. Elkhart-Goshen, Indiana

With Elkhart being responsible for producing the majority of the world's RVs, 50.7 percent of the Elkhart-Goshen workforce is employed in manufacturing, the largest share of any city. Elkhart's economy struggled during the Great Recession, but a rebounding RV market has led to a resurgence.

The average annual wage in the Elkhart manufacturing sector rose by $3,607 in 2016, more than six times the national wage growth. Overall per capita income rose by 3.8 percent, the seventh most of any U.S. metro area. The unemployment stands at just 2.4 percent as of May, nearly the lowest in the country.

6. Bloomington, Indiana

Bloomington had one of the largest increases in income per capita in the country in 2016 at 3.8 percent, and it was the second straight year that per capita income grew by at least that much. In 2015, per capita income increased by 4.9 percent, largely driven by rapid wage growth in the private sector.

While the vast majority of metro areas with growing incomes are in places with relatively low educational attainment rates, experts say Bloomington is an exception as nearly 40 percent of adults have a bachelor's degree, compared to 31.3 percent of adults nationwide.

3. Muncie, Indiana

While unemployment in Munice rose from 5.1 percent in June 2007 to a post-recession peak of 12.2 percent in March 2010, the share of unemployed workers has since fallen to just 3.9 percent.

In addition to a strengthening job market, a shrinking population helped boost per capita income on Muncie. The metro area's population contracted 1.1 percent in 2016 as total personal income climbed 4.5 percent. As a result, per capita income rose 4.8 percent, from $34,333 in 2015 to $35,993 in 2016, the third largest increase of any U.S. city

24/7 Wall Street, a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary, contributed to this story. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at 317-444-6138 or email him at justin.mack@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.